Grants

STFM Project Fund

This fund encourages STFM Collaboratives and Special Project Teams to plan, develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate findings from educationally-related scholarly projects. The outcomes of the project should benefit members, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and the discipline of family medicine. The project should also provide students, residents and new faculty an opportunity to participate in a significant way in a scholarly project that exposes them to STFM.

The STFM Foundation generally allocates $20,000 annually to the STFM Project Fund. The program is coordinated by the STFM Executive Committee.

The project must be a collaborative effort among two or more STFM members.

A student, resident, or new faculty (7 yrs or less in faculty role) must have a significant role in the project either as a co-principal investigator, project leader, or as a primary recipient of the project activities.

The project must be recommended by an STFM Collaborative or Special Project Team.

Funds must be disbursed to an entity, not an individual.

Projects should attempt to conduct their survey through CERA, if appropriate.

Funds may not be used for salary support.

Projects are funded for a maximum of 2 years, and funding is not renewable. Funds may be budgeted in the categories below. Indirect costs are not provided.

Personnel (eg, to purchase a statistical consultant's time). Funds for faculty and/or staff release time must be contributed "in-kind" by departments/programs.

Production and technical support.

A project may be funded for 1 or 2 years at one of the two levels below:

Full Funding: A few proposals of exceptional quality and potential impact may be funded up to $10,000 total.

Seed Money: To support projects up to $5,000 total.

Proposals at either funding level must have matching in-kind contributions for personnel (eg, faculty and/or staff), equipment, and/or supplies. Any unspent dollars from projects must be returned to the STFM Foundation.

Project has strong relationship to the community/special project team goals.

Project rationale is innovative and adds new knowledge and/or advances an existing body of knowledge.

Project identifies measurable outcomes.

Project’s activities are innovative and match proposed goals and objectives.

Evaluation methods are valid and reliable.

Project yields outcomes that STFM’s members and constituencies can use.

Project has potential of continuing after initial funding.

There is a clear dissemination plan for project results or products.

Project budget includes matching funds from a department or other sources.

Any STFM Collaborative or Special Project Team may submit a proposal for funding. Proposals must follow the format shown on the application form and be submitted electronically to Pat Lodge at plodge@stfm.org by November 8.

The STFM Executive Committee will fund selected proposals at one of the levels stated in the Funding Details tab. Proposals will be assessed using the Proposal Rating Form. Principal Investigators will be notified about the funding decision on February 15, and funds will be dispersed by March 1. The project period runs from March 1 – February 28. Principal investigators of funded proposals must submit a progress report to the STFM Executive Director on September 1 of the project period, and at 6-month intervals until the final report due by March 20 in the year of completion.

Project: STFM/CFPC Global Family Medicine Education SymposiumDescription: Many of the challenges faced in expanding and advocating for family medicine education are not unique to the United States context. Research and practice improvement findings are available from around the globe which can better inform our own educational systems and structures and, similarly, allow us to share our own best practices with others. STFM-GHEC leadership, in conjunction with colleagues in the Canadian Family Physicians, including representatives of the University of Toronto and the Besrour Center, will host an evening dinner symposium on Monday, April 29th, during the STFM Annual Spring Conference. The event will offer an opportunity for both formal and informal networking and knowledge sharing between US and internationally-based physicians surrounding topics of key importance in family medicine education..STFM Collaborative: Global Health EducatorsPrincipal Investigator: Esther Johnston, MD, MPH, The Wright Center National FMR at HealthPointAward: $1,000 over 1 year

Project: Beginning Writing Skills for Early Career Minority FacultyDescription: This project will be a two-year extension of the writing workshops from STFM. The steering committee of the multicultural and minority health collaborative will take on six new, junior faculty members and actively mentor them from writing a letter to the editor to completing their first manuscript based on their published letter to the editor. We will assist them in finding data sources, completing the IRB application, analyzing the data, and writing the manuscript. We will also encourage the protégés to present at two conferences and use those presentations to inform the scholarly project.STFM Collaborative: Minority and Multicultural HealthPrincipal Investigator: Jose Rodriguez, MD, University of Utah Health SciencesAward: $8,000 over 2 years

Project: Creation of a National Addiction Medicine Curriculum for Family Medicine Residency ProgramsDescription: The STFM’s Addiction Collaborative proposes creation of a national addiction medicine curriculum accessible to Family Medicine Residency programs across the country seeking to launch a first-time curriculum or improve an existing one. We will design this curriculum via a 3-step approach: first, we will develop a list of core competencies by soliciting feedback from expert family medicine educators across the country and from national addiction societies’ guidelines; second, we will develop a curriculum based on these competencies; third, we will test and evaluate this curriculum at several residency programs across the country before more broadly expanding access. The curriculum will cater to programs with various levels of need and include both online and in-person learning. We will create high quality, interactive modules with videos, case scenarios, knowledge checks, and learning objectives that residents can complete asynchronously. Taking a flipped classroom approach, we will also design an instructor’s guide that faculty can use to facilitate an in-person classroom session with discussions and practice through case-based learning. Finally, we will offer family medicine residency program faculty members opportunities for enhanced teaching support through a six-month ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) hub that provides bi-weekly didactics, case presentations, and expert troubleshooting with members of the Addiction Collaborative. This multimodal curriculum will thus provide a complete package of knowledge-based content and skill development that is adaptable to the needs and capacity of any residency program. We will specifically cater to faculty who have little specialized training in addiction but still create content that can be tweaked by those with more robust training. We will also design strategies for programs to support and evaluate resident competency development over time. We will pilot the national addiction medicine curriculum at several residency programs and evaluate its effectiveness and feasibility. We will then seek additional funding from national and state organizations (e.g., AAFP, ASAM) to expand and improve the curriculum and disseminate it across the country.STFM Collaborative: AddictionsPrincipal Investigator: Randi Sokol, MD, MPH, MMedEd, Tufts FMRAward: $6,000 over 2 years

2018

Project: Integration and Optimization of Clinical Pharmacists as Clinician-Educators and Faculty Members Within Family Medicine Residency Programs: A Residency Program and Clinician’s GuideDescription: Clinical pharmacists are well-established within family medicine residency programs (FMRPs) as clinician-educators and faculty members. However, nearly half of FMRPs do not employ clinical pharmacists. Despite an established pipeline for highly-trained clinical pharmacist educators, fewer are trained specifically for faculty roles in physician training programs. Additionally, many existing family medicine physician faculty were not trained with clinical pharmacists as team members. Resources are needed to grow integration of these valuable clinician-educators and faculty members to support interprofessional team-based care and education. This project will establish resources to assist family medicine residency programs justify and utilize clinical pharmacists as well as create resources for faculty development specifically for clinical pharmacists for optimal integrationSTFM Special Project Team: Pharmacist FacultyPrincipal Investigator: Jennie Jarrett, PharmD, BCPS, MMedEd, University of Illinois at ChicagoAward: $ 8,000 over 2 years

Project: Racism in the Healthcare System: An Investigation of Institutional Racism, Racism from Colleagues, and Racism from Patients as Reported by Physicians of ColorDescription: The research literature has been notably silent on the effects of racism on physicians of color (defined here as physicians from the non-dominant racial-ethnic group), despite instances of racism being well-documented in personal accounts. Thus, it is imperative to understand experiences of racism within the healthcare setting in order to inform interventions and create systems of support for physicians of color. In a mixed methods survey design, we aim to ask physicians about their experiences of racism from patients, racism from colleagues, and institutional racism. We also aim to investigate how racism affects work satisfaction, burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress. We hope that the results of this study will provide empirical support for the effects of racism experienced by physicians, as well as serve to identify sources of support to help protect against encountering racism in the healthcare setting.STFM Collaborative: Minority and Multicultural HealthPrincipal Investigator: Kelly Serafini, PhD, CDP, Swedish First Hill FMR, Seattle, WAAward: $5,000 over 1 year

Project: Voices from Behaviorists in Family Medicine: Experience and Wisdom from the Past that Shapes a FutureDescription: There is perhaps nothing more powerful as a tool for teaching then the “Story.” Stories allow us to enter into an experience, walk around, and develop insight and gain wisdom. It provides a means of moving from the simple instruction of information to hopefully the transformation of a learner, who is encouraged to see their world and their craft with a deeper vision. The stories of many senior faculty, who are “wisdom carriers,” have not yet been told or shared with many of us who are coming behind. In fact, several influential faculty have already retired with several others planning to retire in the coming years. The stories of these “Pioneers” give us an opportunity to hear where we have come from and reflect upon the struggles, growth, and potential for the future. We do not want to miss the contributions and wisdom that these early pioneers have to share with us, especially during this time of celebration. The intent of this project is to identify and interview a number of pioneer faculty who have shaped behavioral training in Family Medicine. These interviews or stories would not only be recorded but also disseminated to the larger Family Medicine community. This would allow us to capture our history, glean insight and wisdom, and perhaps shape and impact those faculty coming behind.STFM Collaborative: Family and Behavioral HealthPrincipal Investigator: Thomas Bishop, PsyD, University of MichiganAward: $7,200 over 2 years

2017

Project: Pre-matriculation Exposure to Pharmaceutical Marketing: Too Much, Too Soon?Description: Pharmaceutical marketing is effective in changing behavior of health care providers resulting in less evidence based prescribing, decreased prescribing of generic alternatives, and higher prescription costs.1-7 Pharmaceutical companies interact with physicians-in-training during formative stages of their careers.8-16 In 2013, at a single private Midwestern medical school, 62% of students interacted with pharmaceutical marketers before matriculation.17 Unpublished 2016 data from the University of Washington shows 54% of pre-matriculated students interacted with drug marketers. This interaction occurred most often during shadowing in preparation for medical school application. Medical experience, such as shadowing physicians, is required by many schools, and the magnitude nationally of the exposure to pharmaceutical marketers before matriculation is not known. Where exposure exists, prospective students are in an awkward position without the experience or knowledge to manage this. If medical students matriculate already exposed to pharmaceutical marketing, it risks normalization of this physician/industry entanglement. There are educational and professional consequences that call –at least- for curriculum development and professionalism and ethics training early in medical school. We propose a national survey of medical students to examine the prevalence of pre-matriculation exposure to pharmaceutical marketing. We hypothesize that pre-matriculation exposure is widespread and occurs principally during shadowing and employment experiences.STFM Collaboration: Humanities and EthicsPrincipal Investigator: David V Evans, MD, University of Washington School of MedicineAward: $3,000 over 1 year

Project: Preparing Medical Students and Residents to Work in Behavioral Health IntegrationDescription: Behavioral health integration in primary care is becoming more of the norm than the exception in the current US health care system. Family physicians comprise half of the primary care medical workforce and consequently are responsible for addressing many behavioral health needs. Most family physicians lack the training necessary to effectively utilize integrated behavioral health services. Family medicine educators need an evidence- and competency-based curriculum to prepare students and residents to work with behavioral health clinicians. The purpose of this multi-disciplinary, multi-site project is to design and evaluate a curriculum that prepares future generations of family physicians in behavioral health integration.STFM Collaboration: Family and Behavioral HealthPrincipal Investigator: Matt Martin, PhD, LMFT, Duke/SR-AHEC Family Medicine Residency ProgramAward: $9,000 over 2 years

Project: STFM Task Force on Residential Wellness: Developing Expert Consensus Guidelines on CurriculaDescription: Physician burnout is increasingly being recognized as both a national epidemic and a threat to achieving the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Triple Aim of improving patient experience of care, improving health of populations, and reducing the cost of health care. Burnout is linked to lower patient satisfaction, lower quality of care, higher rates of medical error, higher turnover, substance abuse and suicide. Contributors to burnout often begin during residency. There has been a welcome explosion of conference presentations on this topic; however few intervention studies exist. The field is its infancy with regard to the evidence of what is most effective. A Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Task Force on Resident Wellness was recently created and proposes a partnership with a similar task force from the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD). The primary aims of this project are to: (1) conduct a comprehensive literature review and gather existing FM resident wellness curricula; (2) identify and bring together thoughtful leaders to review the evidence and existing curricula using; (3) use a qualitative metasynthesis for this review and to develop common themes in existing curricula; (4) develop a concept paper offering expert guidelines on family medicine residency wellness curricula, mapped to the ACGME milestones; and (5) use the existing online platforms, available through STFM and AFMRD, to offer FM residency programs these guidelines and curricular tools.STFM Collaboration: Family and Behavioral HealthPrincipal Investigator: Lauren Penwell-Waines, PhD, Roanoke Salem Family MedicineAward: $8,000 over 2 years

2016

Project: The CoPRR Study: Community Preceptor Recruitment and RetentionDescription: Preceptor recruitment and retention is a significant and ubiquitous challenge for Family Medicine departments. A push-pull framework can help identify factors that promote or impede community physicians serving as clinical faculty members and teaching aspreceptors. This project involves three components. First, we will conduct national focus groups of community physicians who are, or may become, preceptors to identify relevant factors and elements of the push-pull framework. Second, we will use Lean Methodology to rapidly test interventions and innovations designed to impact the push-pull balance and improve preceptor recruitment and retention. Finally, we plan to perform structured project team and participant debriefing sessions throughout our project to evaluate our experiences and determine if Lean Methodology is a feasible model for STFM to adopt for addressing pressing issues in medical education.STFM Group: Medical Student EducationPrincipal Investigator: Amanda Kost, MD, University of Washing ton School of MedicineAward: $10,000 over 2 years

Project: Pipeline is Policy: Building the LadderDescription: The Ladder is an intergenerational, cascading mentorship program in Minneapolis that incorporates hands-on science fun with values and character development. The goal of this project is to disseminate the Ladder model in a way that is sustainable and adaptable to meet local needs and goals. This will be accomplished through creation and dissemination of a toolkit that will allow communities across the country to adapt The Ladder model to serve their communities and equip and guide youth on the pathway to becoming health professionals. This project addresses underrepresentation of minority groups in healthcare professions, and supports development of leadership, mentorship, and teaching skills of involved health professionals and students.STFM Group: Health Policy and Access (Co-Sponsored by Latino Faculty and Minority and Multicultural Health)Principal Investigator: Renee Crichlow, MD, University of MinnesotaAward: $10,000 over 2 years

Project: Photos from the Frontlines: A Cross-Institutional Exploration of Medical Student Experiences Using PhotovoiceDescription: The purpose of “Photos from the Frontlines” is to examine how the rural setting interacts with students’ clinical training. Using the participatory visual research method, Photovoice, from a cross institutional perspective, we hope to gain a better understanding of how rural and small town settings impact students’ learning, and intentions for future practice. Results from our study may provide insight into how rural training experiences shape perceptions of medicine through students’ identification with rural settings and community preceptors, to inform medical educators in the refinement of rural education programs to sustain students’ intentions for rural practice.STFM Group: Rural HealthPrinciple Investigator: Carrie Roseamelia, PhD, State University of New York Upstate Medical University College of MedicineAward: $4,750 over 1 year

2015

Project: Rural Workforce Development From the Perspective of the Family Medicine ResidentDescription: Rural communities experience challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians. The Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed to help communities assess their strengths and challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians. This study will utilize the CAQ to assess the characteristics and parameters of rural and urban/suburban communities relating to recruitment and retention of family medicine residents. Results may inform medical schools, residencies, and rural communities about the factors that relate to recruitment of rural track physicians in training and potential retention as they begin their practices.STFM Group: Rural HealthPrincipal Investigator: David Schmitz, MD, Family Medicine Residency of IdahoAward: $5,000 over 1 year

Project: Quality Mentorship Through STFMDescription: The Groups on Latino Faculty and Minority and Multicultural Health share many common goals around increasing the number of underrepresented in medicine minority (URMM) faculty and improving health equity by addressing health disparities and the provision of culturally humble care. A diverse, resilient, proficient, purpose-driven, patient-centered workforce is necessary for the future of family medicine. A deliberate effort to nurture family medicine faculty and cultivate family medicine interest to meet population demands and promote the elimination of health disparities in the United States and abroad is essential. This planning project will explore the creation and implementation of a longitudinal faculty mentorship program and infrastructure for the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM). The long-term goals of this project are to enhance mentorship opportunities for STFM members, improve resiliency and retention of URMM family medicine faculty, and increase education and leadership diversity for STFM.STFM Group: Minority and Multicultural Health and Latino FacultyPrincipal Investigator: Joedrecka S. Brown Speights, MD, Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health, Florida State University, Award: $20,000 over 2 years

2014

Project: Competencies for Family Medicine Global Health FellowsDescription: There are currently no guidelines outlining competencies for global health fellows. This project will help define core competencies that will clarify fellowship training goals and create the basis for comprehensive and robust curricula evaluation of fellowships. The study will utilize a technique to achieve a consensus around these competencies among a diverse panel of family medicine educators with dual expertise in global health and medical/residency education.STFM Group: Global HealthPrincipal Investigator: Fadya El Rayess, MD, MPH, B rown Family Medicine Residency, Pawtucket, RIAward: $4,060

Project: State of the World: An Update of the Global Landscape of Family Medicine TrainingDescription: Nearly 2 decades have elapsed since the global status of family medicine postgraduate training was last described. The focus of this project is to update the typology of family medicine and postgraduate training on a nation-by-nation basis. The study will access and utilize information using an electronically based strategy to identify published materials. The main goal is to determine whether or not a nation has an active postgraduate training program for medical professionals that leads to a distinct family medicine-type qualification for the individual.STFM Group: Global HealthPrincipal Investigator: John Tice Parks, MD, Georgetown University, Award: $4,920

Project: Implementation of a Model to Empower Family Medicine Patients to Achieve Recommended IOM Gestational Weight Gain Recommendations Description: Excessive weight gain before and during pregnancy has considerable adverse effects on the short- and longterm healthof both the mother and child. Although the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has devised a set of recommendations and guidelines for health providers to gauge an appropriate gestational weight gain allowance for their patients, the issue remains of great concern in the United States. This project will evaluate whether a model developed to increase the familiarity and implementation of the 2009 IOM’s weight gain recommendations by family medicine providers and staff in their clinical practice will prevent excessive weight gain in already obese, overweight, or normal-weight women during pregnancy.STFM Group: Family-Centered Maternity CarePrincipal Investigator: Evelyn Figueroa, MD, University of Illinois at Chicago, Award: $9,597

2013Project: Rural Workforce Development From the Perspective of the Medical Student: Assessment of Factors for Recruiting and Retaining Medical Students to Rural Communities Using the Community Apgar Questionnaire (CAQ)Description: This study involves surveying third- and fourth-year medical students from geographically diverse institutions who are considering a career in family medicine using the CAQ to assess if differences exist on the CAQ factor importance ratings between those third- and fourth-year students who are planning to practice in rural settings versus those who plan on an urban or suburban practice. Results may be used to inform medical schools and rural communities about factors that relate to recruitment of rural track physicians in training and potential retention of those practitioners once they begin rural practice.STFM Group: Rural HealthPrincipal Investigator: Alex J. Reed, PsyD, MPH, Family Medicine Residency of Idaho, Award: $5,000 for 1 year

Project: Strengthening International Family Medicine Faculty Development: Needs Assessment to Guide Developing CountriesDescription: The purpose of this project is to define the core teaching and curriculum development needs of faculty during their first 3 years at family medicine residency programs in developing countries. Developing countries refers to any country where graduate training in the specialty of family medicine is emerging and does not necessarily denote economic or geopolitical status. The project will be conducted in three phases: (1) identifying core competencies necessary for faculty in family medicine residency programs in developing countries, (2) describing core curricular content of family medicine faculty development programs in the United States, and (3) establishing guidelines for teaching and curriculum development in family medicine residency programs in developing countries.STFM Groups: Global Health and Faculty DevelopmentPrincipal Investigator: Paul R. Larson, MD, MS, UPMC St. MargaretAward: $10,000 over 2 years

Project: Virtual Minority Medical Student Outreach “Happy Hours”Description: Medical school can be a stressful and trying time for most students and even more so for minority students who may feel isolated or under-supported. The intention of this project is to harness the best of virtual interaction technology and social media to provide a rich source of warm human emotional support, relevant information, and motivational encouragement to successfully navigate the many and unique challenges faced by minority medical students. The virtual happy hour project will directly foster academic development of minority physicians, provide mentorship for minority medical students, and facilitate a network for current and future colleagues through a series of monthly semi-structured 90-minute meetings in a virtual gathering space.STFM Group: Minority Health and Multicultural Education.Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Ring, PhD, White Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Residency ProgramAward: $5,000 for 1 year

2012

Project: Evaluation of the Extent and Methods of Public Health Training in US Medical Schools and Family Medicine Training ProgramsDescription: The goal of this project is to assess public health training curricula in medical schools and residency training programs by including questions on the CERA survey designed to determine the prevalent methods of delivery of required public health training.STFM Group: Public Health EducationPrinciple Investigator: Jacob Prunuske, MD, MSPH, University of Minnesota-DuluthAward: $10,000 over one year

Project: Increasing the Interest of Minority Students in Choosing Family Medicine through MentoringDescription: The goal is of this project is to provide community preceptors (targeting minorities) in the Seattle area (AN12 location) with information that will assist them in their role as mentors for students and serving as a positive influence for Family Medicine. This willbe done by offering a special session for preceptors who have received a scholarship to attend AN12.STFM Group: Minority and Multicultural HealthPrincipal Investigator: Judy Washington, MD, Women and Family Hea lth, New JerseyAward: $7,150 for 10 preceptors to attend AN12 (carried over to AN13)

Project: Improving Education in Care for Those With DisabilitiesDescription: The goal of this project is to allow faculty from residency programs and medical schools with expertise in the treatment of patients with disabilities to design a unified curriculum which could be integrated into other sites. There will be 10 people on the curriculum work group.STFM Group: DisabilitiesPrincipal Investigator: Deborah Dreyfus, MD, Boston UniversityAward: $9,900 over two years

2011Project: The SAGE Project: Assessing the Social Accountability of Global Health Experiences. Do Global Health Tracks During Family Medicine Residency Increase the Likelihood of Underserved Care?Description: Given that an influx of newly insured will likely exacerbate current physician maldistribution, residencies will soon be evaluated on their ability to produce physicians for shortage areas. Surveys indicate Global Health Track (GHT) participants have increased interest in underserved care, but no studies have assessed whether participants are more likely to practice in underserved areas. This project will identify five residencies with well-established GHTs, determine whether their GHT participants are more likely to practice in underserved areas compared with nonparticipants, and create an evidence summary document that can be used to inform curricular decisions.STFM Group: Global HealthPrincipal Investigator: Winston Liaw, MD, MPH, VCU Family Practice CenterAward: $9,732 over 2 years

Project: An Ounce of Prevention: How We Are Managing the Early Assessment of Residents’ Clinical SkillsDescription: This STFM Foundation group project will survey family medicine program directors to discover what early assessment methods and activities are being used, benefits and costs of these methods, barriers to implementation of early assessment activities, and whether or not these assessments have been effective at identifying interns who will experience academic difficulty. This information will be used to develop a recommendation for early clinical skills assessment of residents.STFM Group: Learners in Academic DifficultyPrincipal Investigator: Tracy Kedian, MD, University of MassachusettsAward: $8,150 for 1 year

Project: Identifying the Motivators and Challenges for Senior Faculty in Family MedicineDescription: The purpose of this project is to identify the personal and professional needs of senior (more than 55 years old) faculty to provide an enhanced forum and resources to support and engage this significant segment of STFM membership. This will be accomplished through both a survey and focus groups, yielding quantitative and qualitative data for publication and to inform educational programming decisions.STFM Group: Senior FacultyPrincipal Investigator: Jeff Stearns, MD, University of WisconsinAward: $8,500 over 2 years

Project: Rural Health Predoctoral Book Discussion GroupsDescription: The goal of this project is to expose first- and second-year medical students to the realities of the practice of rural medicine today through reading and discussion of a recently published collection edited by the PI, The Country Doctor Revisited, a 21st Century Reader. Ten sites will be recruited from medical schools with affliated rural family medicine residencies. The project allows for early interaction between rural residency directors and medical students, creates opportunities for students to network with other students interested in rural practice, and to develop mentoring relationships with rural family medicine faculty. The students’ eventual choice of residency will be tracked.STFM Group: Rural HealthPrincipal Investigator: Theresa Zink, MD, MPH, University of MinnesotaAward: $9,920 over 2 years

2010

Project: Behavioral Science Educator FellowshipDescription: This project will engage 12 newer behavioral science educators in small networking groups with experienced educators who will serve as mentors. The Fellows will learn to teach the core principles of behavioral science, will define the best practices in behavioral science core content, and will be involved in a task force to develop a national curriculum between 2011 and 2013.STFM Groups: Family in Family Medicine and Behavioral SciencePrincipal Investigator: Deborah Taylor, PhD, Central Maine Medical Center FMRAward: $10,000 over 2 years

Project: Women’s Abortion Experiences in the Family Medicine SettingDescription: The results of a cross-sectional study of 200 women undergoing first trimester abortion at four family medicine residencies will be used to inform programmatic and educational interventions to improve patient-centered abortion care in family medicine.STFM Group: Abortion Training and AccessPrincipal Investigator: Justine Wu, MD, MPH, Robert Wood Johnson School of MedicineAward: $4,955 for 1 year

Project: Survey of Medical Ethics Education in Family Medicine Residency ProgramsDescription: Program directors in the United States will be surveyed to determine details on theprevalence, aims, content, teaching, assessment, and outcomes of formal ethicseducation for family medicine residents. Survey results will provide pedagogicalguidance through the sharing of curricular information and highlight ways in whichethics education in family medicine could be improved.STFM Group: Ethics and HumanitiesPrincipal Investigator: Helen M. Manson, MBChB, MRC, Dundee University, Scotland, UKAward: $10,000 for 1 year

2009

Project: Online Training in Dietary Supplements for Family PhysiciansDescription: Many patients use dietary supplements, and physicians need evidence-based up-to-date information on the safety and efficacy of dietary supplements. This project will develop, evaluate, and market online continuing medical education modules on dietary supplements and three chronic health conditions: heart disease, diabetes, and asthma. These modules will be maintained and updated at the Boston Medical Center Department of Family Medicine and housed on the BU Distance Education for Health Web site. CME credit will be through BU.STFM Group: Integrative MedicinePrincipal Investigator: Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH, Boston University Department of Family MedicineAward: $9,745 over 2 years

Project: Medical School Admission Policies and the Family Medicine Pipeline: Developing Practical Guidance Based on Analysis of Student OriginsDescription: Many state medical schools have increased their efforts to recruit and matriculate out-of-state medical students in the past decade, while they simultaneously have experienced decreased numbers of students matriculating into the specialty of family medicine. Practical information is lacking on the relationship between student origin and medical specialty choice. This project will address this deficiency by analyzing data from the 10-year period prior to 1997, which saw a growth in the number of US seniors entering family medicine, as well as the 10-year period after 1997 in which a decline occurred. The project is designed to alleviate potential unintended consequences of current policies of admissions committees and to empower administrators to make informed decisions that will benefit underserved rural populations by increasing the recruitment of physicians from rural areas.STFM Group: Rural HealthPrincipal Investigator: Richard Pretorius, MD, MPH , SUNY Department of Family Medicine, Buffalo, NY,Award: $10,000 over 2 years

Project: Current Trends in Medical Education in Identifying and Treating Patients Exposed to Domestic ViolenceDescription: Residency Review Committee (RRC) guidelines state that each residency must have a structured curriculum in community medicine, including didactic and experiential components for the assessment of risks for abuse, neglect, and family and community violence along with a process to evaluate the curriculum and to document resident skill attainment. This project will survey family medicine departments with regard to the training of faculty, residents, and medical students in the assessment of these risks within the framework of ACGME and RRC guidelines. The results will characterize the field’s current focus, identifying systematic educational gaps in addition to deconstructing the components of innovative models that can be disseminated nationally.STFM Group: Violence Education and PreventionPrincipal Investigator: Peter Cronholm, MD, MSCE, University of Pennsylvania Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Award: $4,000 for 1 year

2008Project: Adolescent Health for Primary Care: Development of a Web-based, Comprehensive, Competency-based CurriculumDescription: The project will: 1) develop, implement, and evaluate a curricular instruction plan; 2) develop, implement, and maintain a peer-reviewed database of adolescent-related teaching resources through a link to STFM’s Family Medicine Digital Resources Library; and 3) house the curriculum on the Web to maximize access.STFM Group: Adolescent HealthPrincipal Investigator: Francesco Leanza, MD, Beth Israel Residency Program in Urban Family Health, New York, NYAward: $10,000 over 2 years

Project: Overcoming Obstacles to Writing for Family Medicine EducatorsDescription: This project will conduct four writing workshops open to STFM members, particularly junior, women, Hispanic, and minority faculty designed to support minority faculty, enhance their ability to recruit others to the field, and build capacity for research through strengthening writing ability.STFM Group: Minority and Multicultural HealthPrincipal Investigator: Lucy Candib, MD, Family Health Center of Worcester, Worcester, MassAward: $10,000 over 2 years

Project: Teaching E-mail Communication in a Residency ProgramDescription: This project will develop a curriculum to teach residents how best to communicate via e-mail with patients while guarding patient confidentiality, safety, and imparting appropriate information in a suitable time to the correct recipient. STFM Group: Information Technology—Heather Paladine, MD, University of Southern CaliforniaFamily Medicine Residency, principal investigator Award: $4,780 over 2 years

Project: Outgoing Third-year Family Medicine Resident SatisfactionDescription: This project will create and offer to all US and Canadian family medicine residency programs a confidential, objective, self-report questionnaire that will be administered online to graduating third year residents as a part of the exit interview process.STFM Group: Behavioral SciencePrincipal Investigator: Timothy Spruill, EdD, Florida Hospital East Orlando, Orlando, FlAward: $5,000 over 2 years